Old Flames Die Hard
by FeistyDragon
Summary: "We had sex, it happened, and then you had sex with Tanya and ended up with Rory. Now you're married," she grumbled at him. That was years ago. Tensions are high in the present for Bella and Edward. Their lives are like a math problem. The slightest mistake can offset the equation…extinguish the flame…or piss someone off.
1. Prologue: Life's a Peach

EPOV

"Daddy, I really don't want to do this!" my six year old whined at me. I looked to see Rory, my daughter, with an adorable pout on her lips.

She was wearing jeans and a simple long sleeved white shirt. Her slightly wavy blonde hair was down while her pale skin seemed to glisten with the extra lighting in the room. Her emerald eyes were shining and had something in them that seemed like they'd intimidate anyone.

"Aurora Elizabeth Cullen, you are going to do this photo shoot for your mother and myself," I addressed at her while she pouted at the use of her full legal name. "Your mother and I would love to look back to this day someday when you're older. Plus, the photographer is your aunt so after the photo shoot we're having dinner with her and your uncle."

Tanya, who was my wife, Rory, and I were at my sister's photography shop getting some photos of us. I wasn't objected to it at all, but with my hysteric schedule for my residency to become a doctor, I really just wanted to sleep all day. I was thankful that my residency was coming to an end soon. I had to regain my composure for the day because this was important.

"Edward, get your butt out of your head and focus on what you're doing right now! You can explore your mind later at dinner," Alice, my sister, hollered at me. I blinked a few times to get out of my induced trace to see my sister's face right in front of mine due to me sitting in a chair. She had a camera around her neck along with an aggravated look on her countenance.

I heard my daughter giggle from somewhere, and that made Alice depart. She walked over to her and started to talk to her that made her smile and laugh. It sometimes fascinated me how Alice could make her laugh so easily, but then again Alice was a lot like her when she was six.

"Hey, baby," Tanya whispered in my ear before placing a kiss on my temple. She walked up behind me, wrapping her hands around my neck. "Tell your sister to start taking the pictures already. Aurora doesn't like waiting, and I'm pretty sure she's hungry for dinner with the rest of the family." She walked around the chair to come sit in my lap.

"Tanya, you know Rory doesn't like it when you call her by her full name, and I can't demand my sister to start the pictures. She has this whole process on how to get ready to take pictures, and if I disturb her she'll consume even more time," I whispered into her neck, placing a few kisses there then placing one of her lips.

"I swear, we should've had dinner with your parents and sister then came here to get our photos. Alice is just so…irritating sometimes," she huffed, wrapping her arms around my neck again.

"I'm sorry about her, but if I got someone else to do it, she would've kicked our asses. And for the thing about her being irritating try living with her for eighteen years," I grumbled, starting to run my hand up and down her side.

We stayed like this for a while while people we're setting up for the scene even though we just wanted a few simple different backdrops with us in various positions. Then again it was Alice we were talking about, and it was just better to mind our own business.

A while after that, Alice was finally ready and was getting some pictures of Rory. Tanya and I just kept our business while Alice did her magic. Although it was taking way longer than I anticipated, Alice's work always turned out great and I trusted her. Then when Tanya and I were joining, hell started.

"Edward, stop touching your wife like you want to make another baby. We have like an hour and a half before we're supposed to meet Mom and Dad for dinner. If you two cannot stop going to the wheel, we're going to be late for dinner. These shouldn't take too long if you two can behave," Alice indicated while pointing to where Rory was.

About twenty minutes later, we were finally done. My family changed into some more comfortable clothing rather than the white shirts and jeans we were in. Plus, white clothing and Rory with food never was a good combination.

Once my family along with Alice and her husband Jasper were at the restaurant, we immediately spotted our parents. We did our greetings, and we were finally seated when I noticed something.

"Mom, why is there an extra three seats?" I asked my mother who was talking to Rory who was on her lap.

"Edward, that's my doing. My one friend is running kind of late, and she might be bringing her boyfriend. I haven't seen her in forever so I figured this may be nice," Alice answered, taking a sip of her water. I didn't like the idea of it because who knew what her and her friend would bring up.

"Which friend?" I questioned, bringing my glass up to my lips.

"You remember Bella? Bella Swan?" she sneered at me.

I chocked on my water while Tanya hit my back a few times to assist me in regaining my breath. Bella Swan. We tolerated each other and were friends, but our friendship was unique. I hated that girl in high school, but I also loved her. No one else knew that I loved her in high school, but my sister always suspected I liked her and of course she was right. I wasn't giving her the satisfactory of it though. I never did anything about it because she was my sister's best friend along with she was either dating Jacob Black or some other jock. There's all that and the fact that we were constantly fighting. I gave up on her after I went on to college, but then there was the dreadful night. We never saw each other again or even talked, and that night was yet to come up with my wife or family, with the exception of my sister.

"Bella?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, she's joining us. Welcome her like any of my other friends, and we won't have any other problems," she hissed at me before talking to her husband.

"Babe, what's wrong with Alice inviting Bella and possibly her boyfriend?" Tanya asked, running a finger up and down my chest.

"Nothing at all. I just haven't seen Bella for a while," I mumbled to her.

_There she was lying on my bed without a shirt on. I had waited four long years to see her beautiful body, and it was about time for me to see it. What I didn't except was for her to have a naval piercing, and I had to admit it was hot as hell. _

"_Dammit, do you know how infuriating it was to see you flirting with everyone on my baseball team last year but me?" I growled at her, nipping at her neck. _

"_Well, it got your attention didn't it? And by the way I'm not the slut you think I am. I never slept with anyone on the baseball team, I just flirted with them to get your attention," she panted, looking for the zipper on my jeans. _

"_You got my attention alright, you little bitch. When I met you in the ninth grade, I thought you were an innocent straight A student, but apparently my judgment was wrong." I moved down her body to her shoulder, leaving kisses on my journey with nips every here and there. "Right now though, this thing you call a bra has to go." I grabbed the front clasp on her bra and unclipped it. _

_There were her perfect breasts, and I wanted to worship them. I had only seen a handful before hers, but hers took number one on my chart for hottest breasts. _

"Edward!" my father hollered at me.

"Huh?" I questioned, thinking I must've zoned out.

"You zoned out on us. What's on your mind, son?" My father looked at me like I had a fatal disease. I must've been hard in concentration when thinking about that night.

"I was just thinking about how busy my schedule will be. Thinking about how Tanya and I are going to _plan_ for an upcoming day," I grinned. I knew that was a good cover because Rory's birthday was next month, and we did need to think of something.

My father just smiled at me, knowing what I was hinting at. After my little blackout, I was extra cautious on what to think of because I knew I couldn't afford another interrogation. Somehow our conversation diverted to Bella, and I didn't join in on it. I just talked with Rory who had no idea who Bella was.

"Daddy, who's Mommy and everyone else talking about?" she asked, pointing at everyone.

"They're just talking about an old friend of ours who we haven't seen for a while. You'd probably like her." The conversation my family was having couldn't have gotten more awkward for me, and Rory probably would've liked Bella too.

Rory and I started to talk about other things and her friends, but I couldn't help but eavesdrop on my family's conversation about Bella. Alice started talking about how Bella was so happy about her invitation to dinner. That's when I heard it.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to drop Roxy off at my parents because Jake couldn't look after her." I knew that voice anywhere and I was wondering what the hell she was talking about.

"Bella!" my sister exclaimed, jumping out of her seat to hug her.

I looked away from Rory to see Bella in something I did not except her to be wearing. Bella was wearing a blue strapless dress that had a sweetheart neckline. About an inch of the neckline was sequins of various shades of blues, and the dress only reached mid-thigh. There wasn't anything inappropriate about it, maybe it was kind of short, but I just didn't except to see this type of dress on her.

My sister and Bella talked amongst themselves for a while about various things before anyone else could finally talk to her.

"So Bella, how's the little one doing?" my mother asked her. I thought she was referring to a dog she might've gotten.

"Roxy's doing well. She's just happy school is over with for the summer, and I am too. Those teens deplete me of my energy by the end of the day," she informed, taking a sip from her yuengling lager. "I wish I could take a break, but now I have other priorities."

Apparently, Bella had a child and I didn't even know it. It made me grumble to myself in anger. After that I just went into my own little world with my wife and Rory. Everyone had ordered and were all having a nice time just talking. My parents were talking to Bella which made me uneasy that she would bring up the subject of that one night years ago. Everything was going fine for a while. Our food eventually came and we started to eat, but then some guy decided to come up to our table.

"Bella, I haven't seen you for a while! You doing the inside or outside waitressing this year?" Some random guy came up to us, drug Bella out of her seat and gave her a hug.

"Dang it, Tyler! Can you not see I am trying to have a friendly dinner with my old friend and her family?" she protested, but she hugged him anyway. Everyone stopped from eating and glanced over at Bella.

"I'm sorry you guys," he apologized, looking our way. "I'm guessing y'all the Cullen's. Bella loves talking to me about her and her adventures with the Cullen's in high school," Tyler started. That made my heart race faster because I didn't need a random guy knowing I had sex with Bella. "So anyway, inside or outside this year?"

"Outside for the most part, now bye," she whispered, pushing her slightly to get him to leave. She took her seat again with all eyes on her. "Ok, just stop with the death glares. I work here in the summer time because I need the money," she sighed, rubbing her face with her hands.

Dinner went on after that little dispute, but I had an idea that my parents wanted to help Bella. We were wealthy as it was and we could spare Bella with some without a worry at all. She was practically another daughter to my parents anyway. Rory eventually got bored when she finished with dinner and ended up sitting in the spare chair next to Bella talking about something.

Dinner had died down, and everyone was just chatting. I had my arm across Tanya's shoulder when I looked over at Rory and Bella. Bella was showing her something on her phone, but it looked like Rory was enjoying it.

"Seems like Aurora made a new friend," Tanya whispered to me. "Maybe she'll have Bella as a teacher someday. That would be funny. Our daughter will be the student of one of your old friends. That makes me wonder why you stopped talking to Bella. You two fought a lot, but you two were friends weren't you?" Tanya knew who Bella was and what our old relationship was like, but she never saw her as a threat. Plus she probably thought I'd never think of my sister's best friend in a romantic way.

"We were friends. Things like this just happen, and we just drifted apart after a while," I whispered to her so Bella wouldn't hear.

Bella ended up getting up out of her seat right after I said that, and came over to us. "I don't want to disturb anything over here between you two, but may I borrow Edward for a few moments, Tanya?"

I looked over at Tanya out of my peripheral vision hoping that she'd decline it, but instead I saw a smile on her face.

"I don't mind at all, Bella. Go on, Edward, go talk to your old friend for a bit," she urged, pushing my shoulder a little.

I reluctantly got up out of my seat to follow Bella to the restaurant's outside facility. It wasn't very private, but then she pulled me into an employees' only door. I figured it was fine considering she was an employee there. The room wasn't special, just a room with a few tables and chairs. No one else was in there though which made things suspicious.

We both took a seat at a table before Bella cracked.

"Dammit it, why the hell did you have to be here?" she hissed at me.

"My sister dragged me to dinner here. I didn't even know you were coming until we had already sat. Do we really need to discuss this?"

"I didn't bring you out for only _that. _Face it, Edward, whatever happened in that room stays there. I don't even _remember_ why we're making such a huge deal out of it. We had sex, it happened, and then you had sex with Tanya and ended up with Rory. Now you're married," she grumbled at me. "I don't hate her or Rory. I've known Rory for like half an hour and she's a sweetheart."

I smiled at her comment on her. "Yeah, she's sweet. She may not have come at the _best time_ all those years ago, but she's brought Tanya and me closer." I fidgeted with my wedding ring.

"Yeah, you're a lucky bastard. I know Rory has the best parents for her."

"I know. You with Jake again or you two hate each other for the moment? Or are you going out with that other jock, Mike? Eric? James?"

"Edward, stop naming every single guy you think I dated. I only dated Mike and I'm dating Jake for now. May change soon though, but I don't know. I'm not the slut you think I was. I was going through a hard time at my house because my parents almost got divorced and I just needed to get my mind off it."

I raised an eyebrow at that. I didn't know that was why she was acting strange for almost two years. "You could've just told me you know. Anyway, what do you mean, 'may change soon'? You and Jake fighting again?"

"No, complete opposite. I think he may ask me to marry him soon, but I'm not positive. If he does, I'll be the future Mrs. Black," she grinned. My eye twitched at the thought of that. Somewhere in my mind, I still loved Bella, even if it wasn't as strong as it was in high school.

"Well, congrats to you," I plainly said.

"That's it?" I nodded. "Well, I guess we have nothing else to discuss," she frowned, getting up from her chair. "Goodbye, Edward." She walked next to my chair and remained there for a moment. She looked over at me then placed a kiss on my right cheek. She then left.

I raised my hand up to where she kissed my cheek. I was in deep shit with her. Brushing past the little thing that probably meant nothing but a farewell to me, I got up and returned to my family to see Bella saying goodbye to Rory.

Rory seemed sad once Bella left despite the fact that she only talked to Bella for a little while. My family all decided it was time for us to depart back to our own homes then. My own family's trip back home was completely silent. Rory had fallen asleep and Tanya was just quiet.

When we arrived home, we took Rory straight to bed because she was completely spent with her day. I sat on the edge of my daughter's bed while Tanya was humming something to her even though she was in deep sleep to start with. Tanya and I both caught each other staring at each other and we smiled at each other then looked down at Rory. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.

Tanya reached for my free hand and then intertwined our fingers. The picture of my wife with our child was going to be embedded in my mind forever. I had a wonderful family with the woman I loved and I didn't want to trade it for anything in the world.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters.**

**Published: June 16, 2013**

**Hey guys, I finally returned to writing. Some of you already read One Night, but this new outtake on it so anything is fair game to be changed. I will say this had a ton of foreshadowing in it, and some of you can probably already figure out what is. Next chapter is like six or seven years from now with major changes; this is only the prologue and things will get more exciting soon;)  
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**I haven't written anything for this site for a while, and I need the feedback on this. What's good, criticism, and what I need to improve. I'd appreciate it. Follows, favorites, and reviews are all great:)  
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**Hope you all have a great rest of the day/night, depending on where you are:D**


	2. Proceed with Caution

_Six years later…_

EPOV

"Tanya, can we not fight about this right now. I'm tired, and it's late. I texted you earlier and told you not to wait up for me," I explained plainly, standing in front of my irate wife in the living room.

"That's exactly the problem, Edward. You're never home anymore! Like what the hell? I have to take care of your daughter night and day. Are you even working anymore or are you boozing it up at a bar with a sleazy waitress?" she hissed, poking me in my chest to intimidate me. Her theory of what I was supposedly doing pissed me off, but the thing about her saying "your daughter" is what tilted me to the max.

"What do you mean 'your daughter'? She's your daughter too!" I had enough. I threw my hands in the air yelling at her despite the fact that I knew Rory could've waken up at any moment. This was not what I anticipated after a hard day at work.

"Edward, you impregnated me with her when I was twenty-one! Twenty-one! I'm not supposed to get pregnant at twenty-one then have her at twenty-two, and most definitely not after only one year of being married to you. Wait, not even a fucking year! Then to add on to that, you were still working on your medical degree and all that medical shit I don't know about. I was alone most of the time after she was born. My friends were out having the time of their lives while I had motherhood responsibilities that I didn't want until I was like thirty," she shouted, backing me up to a wall.

"You said we didn't need a condom! Rory was a complete mistake, but I wouldn't take it back no matter what. I thought you thought that too, but it seems like now you're just being selfish! I thought you loved Rory!"

"Edward, the truth is I _used _to love her, and I can't stand this anymore. Do you even realize what our lives could've been like without her in our lives? We could've traveled the U.S. Hell, we could've gone to Paris or England. I also remember you saying you wanted to go to Ireland someday. Not exactly the easiest thing to do with a damn child holding us down!"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Tanya? Something changed you in the last few weeks. You're always bitching, and it seems like you've dropped Rory off at my parents' more than half the time. It's that or she fends for herself. Why have you changed, Tanya?"

"Geez, you're a dumbass. I can't tolerate these retarded responsibilities anymore. I always have to be at home. I want to live my life, Edward. Then there's the fact that my husband has not fucked me for weeks. I can't do this anymore, Edward."

I was afraid of where Tanya was heading with it. I had to admit maybe I wasn't paying as much attention to Tanya as I used to, but I had too much on my hands. I didn't need yet another argument with her. Yes, we had been fighting for a few weeks. I wasn't so much concerned with my wellbeing, but I was more concerned with Rory's.

"What are you trying to say, Tanya?"

"I just can't do this anymore. I don't even think we love each other anymore. You're so involved in work, and I just can't find it in me to keep caring for Rory," she explained, wiping her eyes with her hand. "I think we need a break."

I was about to say that we could work through it even though I even had doubt, but someone else interrupted.

"Mom, Daddy?"

Tanya and I both saw Rory peeking about the corner. I gulped, wondering how much of the conversation she had heard. I took a peek at Tanya, and she didn't even seem fazed that our daughter had caught us cussing up a storm and fighting. I looked in Rory's eyes, and I immediately knew that she had heard enough to understand.

"Rory, go to your room. I'll be up there in a few minutes," I sternly order, but with a softness that she hopefully wouldn't break down crying.

Rory took a step out into the living room more, but just stood there. I really didn't want to yell at her because of what she probably already heard, and I didn't want her to fear me. I saw her eyes were glistened with tears, and I knew I was in for a long night after my argument with Tanya was over with.

"Ok," she whimpered, looking at only me. "Happy seventh birthday to me," she cried, turning around quickly to run to her room.

_Oh shit! It's July twenty-second! _I thought.

"Edward!" Emmett yelled at me.

"What?" I questioned, wondering what he was yelling for.

"You zoned out on us. You not in the mood for poker or what? Oh wait I know, it's probably because you saw a fuck hot teacher at the kids' school when you dropped Rory off? I bet there's some new fish since it's a new year," Emmett assumed, only earning him a slap upon the back of his head from Rosalie.

Earlier this day, I had dropped off my daughter for her first day of eighth grade. My daughter had changed so much over the years because of my divorce from Tanya. Tanya and I fought for months before we finally got a divorce. The mournful thing was that Tanya didn't even fight for custody of Rory, and she just handed me everything. Try telling a seven year old that her mother didn't want her, didn't love her,_ and_ that she was never coming back. Not the easiest thing to do. I might've not loved Tanya anymore, but even with the divorce I still wanted Rory to have contact with her mother. Unfortunately, that never came.

Eventually we moved from New York to central Pennsylvania. I was hoping that it would help Rory recuperate with all the beautiful land that she could explore and with all the amusement parks. It helped, but not as much as I hoped for. I got us a wonderful house despite the fact that we didn't need such a huge house. I ended up purchasing a four bedroom, three bathroom house with a huge front and back yard. There was also a back deck and a two car garage. We had a long driveway, but not so long that we were isolated. Unfortunate for us.

That's where the McCarty's entered. That was unruly for both of us. They were our next door neighbors who owned a house that looked like a mansion, but then I understood the mansion like building. Emmett being a lawyer and Rosalie being a nurse then there was the McCarty kids. Five kids._ Five_. When I first met them I thought they were crazy or didn't know how to use a damn condom or birth control. Ended up they had a set of twin fourteen year olds who were almost fifteen, another set of twin thirteen year olds, who were also Rory's friends, and a seven year old girl. I felt bad for Emmett because out of all their kids, they only had one fifteen year old boy. That made it worst for me because whenever I had off, and whenever Emmett had some free time, it was mans' night out while Rory stayed with her favorite pair of twins, Natalia and Maryn.

Although Tanya's departure killed Rory on the inside, the McCarty's definitely assisted Rory to forget about Tanya. Plus Rosalie like playing surrogate mother to her because she was easy to care for compared to her other kids. I loved them for that.

This morning though I realized how much Rory actually changed. I had woken Rory up to take her to school, and took in her appearance. Her emerald eyes mirrored mine, but they lacked the luster they had when she was young along with something that made them seem so intimidating. Then there was her hair. She barely ever wore it down, and I had a feeling she didn't like to because she hated seeing her hair color which was strawberry blonde and slightly wavy like her mother's. Although, as she aged her hair turned more blonde than her mother's. Her skin much more tan than normal due to being out in the sun so much, but it was like her mother's in the winter. She had a similar bone structure as her mother, but her body was more toned from playing basketball, soccer, and lacrosse so much. She was only about 5'5, but I think she hated that too. I assumed she hated her appearance because she looked like her mother so much, and she wanted to alter her look so much that she didn't resemble her at all.

"Emmett, I did not come over here to your house to discuss if I saw an attractive woman at the kids' school. Nor did I come over to play poker with you guys," I complained, throwing my cards at them. I didn't even like to play poker that much, and half the time I was apprehensive that the game was going to turn into strip poker.

"Ok," Emmett said, putting all the cards in the box. "You're right for once, Edward. You're here to celebrate that the kids finally went back to school. I'll get a bottle of the Harr's wine they gave us," Emmett proclaimed, getting up to go to their basement to get a bottle.

"Emmett, it is ten in the morning! I have to go to work in two hours, and you have to go to your office later. As of right now I'm not dealing with my drunken ass husband, and his friend who seriously does need to find a lady to fuck and marry," Rosalie boasted at him, stomping over to him while they had their own argument. It was great to know that Rose was on my side. Note the sarcasm.

While those two argued, I checked my phone to check my schedule at the hospital. I had the next few days off so I was good, but I was probably going to end up back at the McCarty's. My phone started vibrating in my hand only to bring up my sister's name. Like I needed to deal with Alice too.

"For fuck's sake, Edward, answer your damn phone! I can hear the damn thing from over here!" Rose hissed at me from the kitchen.

_Geez, PMSing much, Rose._ I thought, finally answering my phone.

"Edward, my dear brother, how you doing on this fine day?" she chirped into the phone. I loathed her chirpiness at such an unruly hour.

"Hello, Alice. Not doing much, but Emmett and Rose are fighting about having wine to celebrate that the kids finally went back to school," I answered when I remembered what time it was. "Shouldn't you be working at your shop, Alice?"

"I am. My next appointment isn't for an hour or so, and I'm just going over another client's pictures. It's a slow day around here." Finally, Rose and Emmett returned back to the table with no wine. Rose still had that pissed off look on her face though.

"Put it on speaker," Rose said, taking a spit from her coffee.

"Alice, Rose and Emmett are here, and I'm putting you on speaker phone now," I informed her, placing my phone on the table so Emmett and Rose could hear it.

"I don't really care, Edward, but hello Emmett and Rose. Rose, when we come down us girls need to have a girls' night out. Okay? Emmett, you can have a night out with Edward and Jasper at a bar or something." That caught my attention. Alice was always a pre-planner, but whenever it concerned me she never informed me of it.

"Whoa, what are you talking about? You were just down here last month for Rory's thirteenth birthday. Why do you need to come back already?" I know I wasn't very considerate about how I phrased that, but every time Alice and her family came down something deplorable always happened. Last time, Alice's five year old fell down the hill behind my house, and she had some bad cuts from the many lingering branches that were spread out.

"Wow, nice to know you're so compassionate and considerate of your sister and her husband coming down for a weekend to visit. I'm going to leave the kids at Mom and Dad's this time. Last time it was family time, Edward. This time will be _adult_ family time, but I'm having a girls' night out with Rose. Oh, come to think of that, Rose, could you drag Bella out of her damn apartment long enough for a night of boozing it up?" Could my sister stop with talking about stuff I never knew about? What was going to be next? She's pregnant with another baby or something?

"Wait, Bella? As in Bella Swan?" I questioned, hoping she would keep what happened discreet with Rose and Emmett.

"Uh, yeah. Who the hell else other than the girl you fucked in high school and took her virginity with you then barely ever saw or spoke to her again? Did I mention that she was and still is my best friend? Oh and I think that was the time when you started dating Tanya, too. " Of course my sister couldn't shut her damn trap.

"Aw, dude, you actually tapped that ass in high school? Bella has a fuck hot body! How could you not want that again?" Emmett exclaimed, striking the table with his hand, making it shake for a little bit.

"Emmett!" Alice, Rose, and I exclaimed at him. He also got a slap upside his head by Rose again.

"Anyway, Bella does live in your area, Edward. In fact, I do believe she teaches eighth grade English at Rory's school, although I don't remember which team. Also, Rose, I was thinking about coming down on Bella's birthday weekend. It's in like two weeks and she needs to get the hell out of her apartment, and she needs a girls' night out."

It was so surprising to me that I never knew that Bella lived in my area. I had been living here for years, yet I had never once heard about Bella. Which was surprising considering the McCarty kids had to have the most voluminous mouths in the neighborhood, and they were often in my driveway playing roller hockey. I hadn't seen or even heard anything about Bella for six years.

"Ok, I'll try my best to haul her ass out of her apartment, but you're going to be here so you need to help me," Rose agreed, staring at Emmett, daring him to comment on what she said.

"Yeah, but _you _need to sexify that girl up. I don't think she's had sex for like a year. James was just an ass towards her, and I have no idea why she dated him for like three years then almost married him. Wait, dammit, Emmett and Edward are still listening aren't they? Emmett, you say anything to Bella about what I just told your wife, and I _will_ shove one of my six inch heels up your ass. The same goes for you dear brother, but also just keep your cock away from Bella if you ever see her at the school. If it doesn't, I'm afraid I will just have to give your personal number to some single ladies from high school that had a crush on you. Believe me, Edward, there are a_ lot_ of single ladies," she threatened at both of us while I glanced over at Emmett who was smirking at me.

"I will be at your house on the Saturday of Bella's birthday whether you're working or not, Edward. Don't forget what I said, either of you idiots. Goodbye, Rose, Dumbass One, and Dumberass Two," she ended. I grabbed my phone from the table before Emmett or Rose could get any ideas.

That was an intriguing conversation with my sister. Not only did I get threatened with single ladies swooning me and a six inch heel up my ass, but also learning Bella was and had been in town for years, probably longer than me. Then Emmett and Rose had to learn that I fucked my sister's best friend. To top it all off, my sister and brother-in-law were coming in a little over two weeks.

"So, what happened between you and Bella in the good old days?" Emmett hinted. His face still had that stupid smirk on it.

"Nothing, Emmett, and leave it at that," I hissed at him, hoping he'd drop the subject. "So does Bella really live here and teach at the kids' school?" I asked, looking over at Rose, hoping she'd answer the question.

"Yeah, Bella lives in the Dreismith Elementary School District, but as you know that is one of the five elementary schools to merge to Burberry Middle and High School, which as you know is where our kids currently go. I'm not telling you exactly where Bella lives and you better not try looking her up. Also, Bella does teacher eighth grade English on the Red Team," she explained before narrowing her eyes at me. For what reason I had no idea because I thought Rory had one of the other two teams, which one I couldn't remember.

"Edward, since the girls are having a girls' night out for Bella's birthday, you, me, and Jasper need to do something here to celebrate," Emmett smirked, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Emmett, it's two weeks away, and my schedule at the hospital could alter at any minute. Nothing is guaranteed," I pointed out. "I think I'm just going to go back home. Maybe go get some groceries or something. Eventually pick up Rory," I started, pushing my chair out to leave them alone. "See you guys around."

* * *

After I departed from their house, I was left alone. I really didn't have much to do. I cleaned the house up a bit, and I even went grocery shopping. With only one kid in the house who was barely ever there, maintaining my house was casual work. While cleaning I did stumble upon Rory's iPhone. I swore that Rory was going to end up losing it with how haphazardly she was with it. I wasn't one for snooping on my daughter's phone, but someone texted her. That's when I saw her lock screen.

Her lock screen was a picture of her, me, and Tanya. It was one of the pictures Alice took at her shop before everything went horribly wrong in our family all those years ago. In fact, it was one of the one's the day we took when before we went to a family dinner...plus Bella. Rory looked so happy in the picture, and it killed me to know that Tanya obliterated her happiness. What didn't make sense was why she had that specific picture as her lock screen when she could've had a picture of her and her friends instead.

I saw the time on Rory's phone and realized it was time to get going to her school. I stuck her phone in my pocket and got in my car to go to the school. When I arrived, I parked in the retarded parent pick up area to wait for her. I was glancing around the front of the school where teachers were standing and helping kids to their respective buses. I saw my daughter walk up to my car while finishing up a conversation with her one friend, Sami Harr. I glanced at them for a moment before my eyes started to wonder again, and that's when I saw someone who looked familiar at the exit of the parent pick up area. I was squinting to get a better look, but I just couldn't focus enough to see enough to place the face with a name.

"Hey, Dad," Rory greeted as she got into the car. She broke my concentration on the person.

"Rory, did you happen to lose something again?" I hinted. I knew she was hook line and sinker because I saw her eyes looking around the car anywhere but me.

"Maybe."

I didn't feel like teasing her so I just pulled her phone out of my pocket. Her eyes instantly lit up, and she immediately seized her phone from my hands.

"Where did you find it?"

"In the couch. Rory, sooner or later you're going to lose it, and you're not going to be able to find it. Keep an eye on your phone," I warned at her.

"It's not my fault my short's pockets are so slippery so my phone slides out of it."

I was about to pull out when I saw the person who looked so familiar was in my sight again, but with some kid by their side this time. It was bugging me so much so I had to ask Rory. "Rory, do you know who that is, and who that other person is?" I pointed over to the familiar face.

Rory looked over to the two people; squinted for a moment before her face lit up. "Oh, that's Ms. Swan and her daughter, Roxy, who's in the ninth grade. Ms. Swan is my English teacher on my team and she's also my homeroom teacher. Roxy and I know each other and we're cool, and we text each other every now and then. We had our one encore class that kept switching each quarter last year. Let's see we had sewing, cooking, workshop, and computer apps together. Roxy was really good at all of that."

_Also, Bella does teacher eighth grade English on the Red Team_, I finally remembered from Rose telling me.

Then it hit me. That was why Rose narrowed her eyes at me because I knew Natalia had Red Team. I was certain Rory had one of the other two teams, but Rory proved me wrong. I of course wasn't going to tell her what happened between us. "Oh, I think I've seen her around town before," I lied so she wouldn't ask why I asked about her.

Rory just shrugged before turning her attention back to her phone. I pulled out of the parent pick up area and was on my way out. The crossing guard stopped me at the exit to let the buses out; for once I didn't care. I observed Bella who wasn't looking at me thankfully.

Bella did look like a teacher, a fuck hot teacher. She was much hotter than any of the old teachers at my middle or high school. Her hair was in some sort of elegant bun that was at the bottom of her head with some loose tendrils hanging around her face, and she was wearing black framed glasses. Her outfit consisted of a short sleeved, white button up blouse along with a black pencil skirt. She was also wearing some sort of black heels, but I couldn't tell from the distance.

"Dad, the crossing guard is motioning you to go," Rory indicated, drawing me out of my daze.

"Oh."

I drove my car out of the area, but not without taking a final look out my rearview mirror at her. She was still talking to her daughter, and didn't seem to notice me. She might not have noticed me, but I sure as hell did. I only knew two things were for sure.

_So much for staying away from Bella. I guess I'm getting a six inch heel up my ass. I hope she doesn't have stilettos. Great, I guess I'm going to have to change my number. Damn it, Alice!_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters.**

**Posted: June 29, 2013**

**Sorry, no formal introduction to Bella yet:/ Next chapter perhaps;) Foreshadowing in this chapter again! I will say that Bella isn't nearly as bitchy when she'll meet Edward this time.**

**Any suggestions? Predictions? Questions? Anyway, keep the follows, favorites, and reviews coming in. I appreciate any of them:D**

**Updates are going to be slow because I have to read Lord of the Flies and The Secret Life of Bees for summer reading and do reports on both of them:/ So don't except anything for another two weeks or longer, or until I get inspired at a random time that will most likely be at night at midnight. Whatever comes first. **

**Enjoy the rest of your day/night:)**


	3. Let's Talk About Us

EPOV

It had been a week since Rory started school again and I had worked for the past few days. Nothing really intriguing happened over the days. I went to work while Rory went to school. That was basically our routine for when she was in school and I was working. When I wasn't working, Emmett usually barged in somewhere and in this case he did. That was why I was sitting on their back deck nursing a beer while Emmett was cooking and Rose was bitching at me.

"Dammit, Edward, stop mopping around my damn house! It's your day off and all you're doing is drinking while you're waiting for dinner. Do something productive. Go take Thunder for a walk or something," Rose hissed, walking past me to help Emmett with dinner.

"Fine," I mumbled, getting out of their porch chair to go inside to find their German shepherd.

I found him with ease and prepared him for a walk when I heard some voices from the living room.

"Now, whatever you do in her classroom during class or homeroom, do _not_ and I repeat, do _not_ piss her the hell off. She's a compassionate teacher so long as you don't get on her pissy side. When she's on her pissy side she's almost as bad as Mrs. Hyler or at least that's what I gathered from my friends who had her," Britney explained, the oldest daughter of the McCarty's.

"I haven't seen a pissy side of her yet though," Natalia argued. "I've been bored in her class the whole time because we've been doing crap that I already know. We have like twenty kids in our class and we're all pretty well behaved. I don't think we'll see her pissy side."

"Damn you. She had to lecture our class at least twice a week. What about you Rory? I know you're in a different period than Nat."

"Britney, I don't know what you're talking about. My class is like twelve people, we're her smallest class, and we're her first period. We have this one annoying as hell kid who sits in front of me and she hasn't lectured us yet. She had some sort of slight hesitation to me the first day, but other than that, she seems really pleasant," Rory answered.

"Damn you bitches! Well, Rory and Nat, but Maryn you've got it bad with Mrs. Hyler. Go talk to Jayden about her and damn, he has a lot of stories."

I don't even know why I listened to their conversation that long. I then exited their house with Thunder in tow. Our neighborhood was nice for just taking a stroll for no reason or just to walk a dog. I don't know how long I was walking him, but my mind started to wonder to Bella…_again_. For the past week my mind had been focused on Bella. I don't know why because it wasn't like we actually talked or anything, and she probably didn't even know that I was looking at her from my car. The last time I associated with her was over six years ago, and we were never true friends. So what the hell was wrong with my brain?

I was so focused on what was wrong with my brain when I suddenly felt a tug on the leash. I had walked ahead of Thunder who was standing a few feet behind me, looking at me with his head tilted slightly.

"What?" He tilted his head even more. "Thunder, you're a dog, and I am not talking about Bella Swan to you. You're a dog for damn's sake." He wrinkled his nose at me then sat. "How in the hell are you so smart? But come on, you're like fourteen in dog years, and I have Rose and Emmett I could talk to-" I stopped mid-sentence because I realized how I _couldn't_ talk to them about her.

I huffed at him before walking us over to an open grassy area. It was ridiculous that I was talking to a _dog_ about my damn problems, but it would have to do. He took a seat next to me, looking at the scenery around him.

"Look, you don't even know Bella, but I guess I need to air it out to someone. I had sex with her towards the end of the year when she was in her senior year of high school and I was in my freshmen year of college. I didn't only have sex with her, I took her virginity. My ex-wife didn't even know that it happened even though I was dating her at the time and I was surprised by that. Anyway, I saw Bella at the school for the first time in six years and I don't know. She's been constantly on my mind, and I don't know why. I can't still be in love with her, and I probably wasn't _truly_ in love with her in high school. I haven't had a civil conversation with her in six years and even then it seemed strained so make it close to fifteen years. I guess Tanya worked herself into there somewhere, and that got me to adjust my feelings for her. I don't know anymore, I don't know what I feel for her. Do I care for her? Like her as a friend? A lover? Dammit, I don't know!" I thrust my hands to my hair.

Ever since Tanya left Rory and me, I was always wary of making new friends and even dating. I was never that social to begin with, but after she left I became even more antisocial. I had acquaintances at the hospital, but none that I could actually call my friends. Then the dating factor had to do with Rory. I didn't want to have to put her through the pain she felt when Tanya left ever again. I had dated a few times since then, but they didn't last more than two or three months.

"I'm done. Come on, Thunder."

The both of us got back up and walked back to the McCarty's house. When we got there, I released Thunder of his leash and he took off. I walked back on the deck to find Emmett at the grill grilling the steaks and Rose was setting the table on the deck.

"Geez, Edward, you get lost on the way or something? You just needed to take Thunder around the block then come back you know," Emmett stated, flipping a steak.

"I had nothing better to do so I figured I'd prolong the walk. Anyway, which kids are in attendance today and which ones aren't? I need to know what to except at _this _dinner." Rory and I had been invited over to the McCarty's many times and their dinners were unique. Sometimes when I was working through dinnertime, Rory would join them and she always had stories to tell about them. It always depended on who was at dinner.

"Jayden's at his friend's house and is staying there for the night, and Emma is staying at her friend's house until nine so you probably won't encounter her. So it's just Brit, Nat, Mar, and Rory, but never underestimate the McCarty's dinner conversations no matter who is present and who isn't," Rose answered.

"I'm scared of your dinner conversations," I mumbled.

"Don't worry, Edward, it's just you and me tonight. Two guys together with five awesome ladies. We'll be fine just so long as they don't end up talking about tampons and that shit."

I was hoping it wouldn't be that bad, but it was never predictable. I was just hoping the dinner would be done quickly so I could eat. I rested my head against the back of my chair, and I closed my eyes. I heard something creak, but I just thought it was one of the kids coming out.

"Damn, I didn't actually think you were coming, Bella," Rose greeted.

I snapped my eyes open to find Bella next to Rose. She was a simple outfit that consisted of short, tan shorts, a plain white t-shirt, and flip flops. She was still wearing those black rimmed glasses and her hair was in a high pony tail. It was happening again just like six years ago, but I wasn't married this time.

"Bella, you came out of your stuffy apartment. I'd come hug you, but the steaks are almost done. I just made it medium well. It's not like you need to get sick or anything from raw meat. Did you bring that daughter of yours? We have more than enough meat. Well, I wouldn't say that, but we have enough if she's here," Emmett rambled.

"No, I dropped her off at her friend's house for the night," she answered before her gaze came over to me. "Edward, I knew you were in town somewhere. Just saw Rory in there and she didn't seem content with my presence or any of the other kids."

I was going to comment on it before Rose butted in. "Pay no nonsense to them. It's just going to be awkward for Rory and Nat since they have you for the school year. You probably hear worse in the school than you do here."

The porch was silent for a few moments, minus the sizzling of the steaks, before Rose dismissed herself to go grab the kids. That left Bella and I to a staring competition for a while. She still had those big brown doe eyes, but there was something in them that I couldn't detect.

When Rose returned, dinner was done. The kids got half the table and we adults got the other half. I ended up with Bella on my left and Rory on my right. Of course I did. Dinner was going alright before Maryn brought up a rather disturbing dinner conversation.

"In music class the other day, Mr. Biers told us about how in middle school he had to put a condom on a banana to learn how to properly put one on," she said.

"Maryn, you just thought to bring this up at dinner time?" Rose questioned, glaring at her.

"Well, maybe you need to do it so you don't end up with another baby. I thought you were done after Nat and me, but then you ended up pregnant with Emma. I always thought you or Dad didn't know how to use a condom or birth control. In my defense, I had to see Dad's bare butt when he had you against the wall." Rose's flushed at that.

"I know Edward doesn't need lessons in putting on a condom because he needs to reproduce. Esme wants more grandbabies and I know Carlisle wants more, too. They have a grand total of three while my parents have a total of twelve grandkids. My sister, brother, and I are superior to Edward, but most importantly _I_ am superior to Edward with my own family."

Everyone started to laugh while I wanted it duct tape his mouth shut. I took a quick look at Bella to see her poking at her steak while trying to hold her chuckle in. While she was distracted, I examined her body. Her profile was still as amazing as it was over a decade ago and I just wanted to run my hand over her cheek down to her neck. Her shirt wasn't exactly tight, but wasn't loose either. Her body was still fit and I just wanted to run my hand down it like I had done in that bedroom. Her legs looked amazing in those shorts and they were probably as soft as they were years ago. My eyes looked back up to her shoulders where I saw something peeking out of the back of neckline. I couldn't see it exactly, so I just suspected it was her bra strap.

After everyone's laughter died down, everyone returned to their own little conversations and dinner. I eventually got sucked into one with Emmett, Rose, and Bella.

"So, Bella, you know what's happening this weekend?" Rose questioned.

"Rose, don't make a big fuss about my birthday. It's nothing special at all. I just hope I'm awake for this birthday, and _no_ I am not going to any bar with you." I started to wonder what she meant by 'I hope I'm awake for this birthday'.

"Damn, you're not going to like what I'm going to say next, Swan. A certain pixie is coming down from New York for the weekend, and I do believe I heard something about going to a bar. Oh, then the pixie said something about Rose sexifying you up and most likely get you laid," Emmett confessed. He looked at me with that look in his eye.

"Emmett!" Rose yelled, smacking him upside his head. While she did that the kids looked over at us for a moment before returning to their food. I was sure they saw him getting hit upside the head many times.

"Damn, Alice can't keep her ass in one place when she has her own family to deal with," Bella mumbled. She finished off her dinner then looked at me. "Tell her to stay up in New York because I don't want to celebrate my birthday."

"Bella, you've known her for almost two decades. Do you really think just because I tell her to stay there that she'll actually do it?" I questioned. "And it wouldn't be that bad. You girls' can have a night out at a bar and we guys might be able to do something."

Bella mumbled something incoherently while finishing off her dinner, and I didn't question her about it. Eventually everyone was done with dinner. Rose and Emmett went inside to do the dishes, or at least that's what they were supposed to be doing. The kids fled to the safe refuge of their own entertainment room in the basement. I didn't blame them.

I went back inside for another beer from their fridge, and I thankfully found Emmett and Rose actually doing the dishes. I stood there awkwardly because I didn't know what else to do. Rose decided to put me in my place.

"Go talk to Bella, Dumbass," Rose started.

"I don't have anything to say to her. How in the hell am I supposed to talk to her when I have nothing to say to her?" I didn't mean in it in the snarky way, I just didn't want to talk to her at the moment.

"You screwed up your relationship with her and now you can unscrew it yourself." Rose took a pause from washing the dishes and turned to face me. "Look, she's my friend and she's your daughter's English teacher. I don't want tension for me and I sure as hell know you don't need tension with Rory and Bella. Did you ever even attempt at amending your old whatever you had?"

Now that Rose had pointed it out, I never did attempt anything with Bella. We kind of agreed to not talk about it, and when we tried to talk we ended up yelling at each other. Frankly, after fifteen years it did seem a bit overrated. People had sex all the time, although they usually don't give their virginity to a random guy for a random fuck or on a one night stand.

_Great, I feel very shitty right now. _

"By the look on your face you never attempted anything. Just talk to Bella. The worst she could do is slap you silly, knee your dick, or tell you off. Bella doesn't do anything more drastic than that to assholes she doesn't like and I have witnessed it on many occasions."

Rose was right. Rose was always the one to tell me what to do when my mother or Alice wasn't around. To make things right between Bella and me, one of us had to step up and it was going to be me. We were probably going to be seeing a lot of each other very soon despite the fact that we probably lived within a few miles of each other for the past few years.

I sat my beer down on the counter and walked over to their deck door. I saw Bella leaning against the railing looking out into the woods behind their house. I opened their door and stepped out of their house, closing the door behind me. I quietly walked up to her, and I stood adjacent to her while mirroring what she was doing.

We stood there in silence for a while. The sun was beginning to set which was always a beautiful sight, and I guessed that was why Bella was standing out on their deck. That and to most likely to avoid me, but so far she hadn't accused me of anything or physically assaulted me.

"So was Alice serious about coming down here to celebrate?" she asked, keeping her face straight ahead.

"I'm pretty sure she was. She doesn't kid about these types of things." I looked over at her again. Even though the sun was setting, I could still Bella's skin clearly. That's when I noticed the thing that I suspected as a bra strap again, but didn't acknowledge it. I did notice a faint scar on her neck though. "Where'd you get this from?" I ran my hand slightly on the scar.

Bella knocked my hand away from her neck. She took a few steps from me, but I didn't move closer. "An accident that happened a few years back," she croaked.

Obviously something happened to her that she didn't like to talk about. I didn't push the subject. We resumed our silent company again. We had to take baby steps to accomplish something in our relationship and I was sure as hell if I went back inside without talking to Bella, Rose would have had my ass.

"What went wrong? What went wrong in our relationship?" I started. "We weren't the best of friends, but we didn't loathe each other. So what happened?"

"I don't know, Edward. It was the teenage years and we didn't know what we were doing. I see it every time I go to work. I hear about kids making the most ludicrous mistakes. They don't have any damn idea of what they're doing with their lives, how some of the decisions they make and do right now affect the rest of their lives. We made the same stupid mistakes all throughout high school. We had sex and it has affected us for the past fifteen years. I don't regret what we did, but I regret how I handled this and still do because I am basically living with the regret."

Bella was making me feel shittier by the minute. I guess her being an eighth grade English teacher wasn't helping either of us. She was right about it being our teenage years. Well, technically when we had sex we were both legal adults, but we did screw up what could've been an actual friendship eventually.

"Bella, we're both adults now. I want to fix this."

"Trust me, I do, too. I've lived a concealed life for too long and I just want to get it out in the open with everyone. I've lived a hellish life with so many twists and turns, but I don't regret anything I've done. I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I needed to be.

"Edward, I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm willing to set things right between the both of us. I'm tired of running from it, and I'm tired of hiding our lives from the truth. I was naïve when we had sex; I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I screwed up and so did you. We're both adults now and I'm pretty sure we're going to be seeing each other a lot more once everything is straighten out. I don't want there to be a strain between us or any of our mutual friends or even Rory. We already wasted fifteen years and we all need to come out along with the truth."

Apparently, as Bella aged, so did her wisdom. Bella was making some reasonable points and I wanted to mend what we had broken when we were in school. I didn't understand some of her points, but it was probably just elaborate ways of making the points more clear.

I looked out to the sun again to see it just above the trees of the woods. It was going to set within the hour and the moon was about to be born once again. It made me realize how many times that they had to do that within fifteen years and how much time I wasted.

"I'm willing to work with you, Bella."

Bella just shook her head and laughed humorlessly. "I want you to and I believe you'd put that to commitment, but you don't realize it. I have to work five times a week and I have papers to grade and think of school plans on the weekends. I also have a fourteen year old daughter to think of. Then there's you. You're a doctor with long hours and after that you're tired as hell. You don't want to do anything but be served like you're a king then use your woman as your sex toy for a quick fuck." I didn't understand what that had to do with anything and it seemed like she recognized her sentence.

"Damn, forget that last part. Point is that you will be tired on your days off and I will probably have to be grading papers or something. With our current occupations, we just aren't compatible for time."

Bella was making another good point, but I was going to commit. "Bella, I haven't done much on my days off in years other than shop for food or clean up the house. I know teaching is probably a grueling job, but I know those teachers have family and make time for them. You've probably made time for Rose and Emmett during the years and your other friends. Just give me a time and where and we'll work this damn thing out."

"Edward, it could be a couple months until I have some time. The beginning of the year is always busy," she laughed. I didn't see the humor in that. She pushed herself off the railing. "Look, I'll try my best to find some time because you're going to commit. I want to get this done as soon as possible." She walked up to me and looked up at me. "And don't try to get Rory to get information or make her your personal messenger." She smiled at me before raising her hand to pat me on my cheek several times then went back inside.

I just stood there, confused. I was wondering what the hell was going on, and why she patted my cheek like she was praising a kid for doing something good. I must've stood there a good time because I heard a car starting up. I knew it was Bella and that she was leaving.

I snapped out of my daze to look off the deck again. The sun was almost set and was ready for the next adventure to start.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters.**

**Posted: July 19, 2013**

**Yep, that's Bella's introduction. Interesting. Not how I originally outlined this, but I prefer this way more. Next chapter…Bella's birthday obviously. Perhaps a look into Bella's mind;) **

**Any suggestions? Predictions? Questions? Anyway, keep the follows, favorites, and reviews coming in. I appreciate any of them:D **

**Okay, so I need your guys help with something. I want to change the summary for this story. Anyone wanna help with it? I'd appreciate it. **

**Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the movie theater with my friend to go see Despicable Me 2 with my one friend. And if you have Despicable Me you really should listen to it in Spanish it's so funny in Spanish. My Spanish class did it once. **

**Enjoy the rest of your day/night:D**


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